Head for filling aerosol containers



Aug. 5, 1969 P. R. RICCIO HEAD FOR FILLING AEROSOL CONTAINERS Filed Feb. 15. 1967 United States Patent 3,459,244 HEAD FOR FILLING AEROSOL CONTAINERS Pasquale R. Riccio, Salem, NH, assignor to Scovill Manufacturing Company, Waterbury, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Filed Feb. 15, 1967, Ser. No. 616,249 Int. Cl. B65b 31/02 US. Cl. 141-20 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A head is provided for use with machines which fill aerosol containers under pressure. A one-piece holder for the valve is extended to an open ended housing for an adaptor unit which is moved upwardly in the housing when pushed into sealing engagement with a container. Releasable fastening means for the adaptor unit allows movement of the unit to open the valve. The adaptor units are relatively simple and cheap to make and one can quickly be replaced by another to accommodate dilferent kinds of containers or standard containers with or without a valve actuating button.

This invention relates to filling heads for pressure filling of aerosol containers. More particularly, the invention involves a simple combination of holder which is attached to the filling machine by a fluid supply connection, and an adaptor unit which is of inexpensive construction and which can be readily removed from the holder and replaced by another adaptor to fit a different situation on the container.

One form of apparatus which was intended for quick and easy change of adaptors in a filling head is disclosed in the patent to Rousseau 3,176,727.

As distinguished from the filling head of that patent, the present invention provides a much more simple construction which is cheaper to manufacture and which is easier to use. For example, instead of such complicated mechanism as the split collar arrangement and sliding sleeve, the adaptor unit with its seal ring for fitment against the container may be inserted or removed from the holder housing by a sliding movement after release of a screw. The essential part of the holder is a one-piece unit with a seat for a poppet valve. A sealing means between the holder and adaptor is automatically engaged to eifect a seal prior to the automatic opening of the poppet supply valve when the head is moved into engagement with a container, or the same result may be accomplished by moving the container up into the sealing engagement with the head.

Various other advantages will be apparent from the drawing and specific description showing one embodiment of the invention and illustrations of some adaptors useful with it. In the drawing:

FIG.1 is a vertical central section through my improved filling head with the valve in open position permitting flow from the source of fluid pressure into the container;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the idle position of the head with the valve closed;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section on line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows the filling head partly in section with a diiferent adaptor fitting a standard aerosol can as distinguished from the bottle indicated in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is also a view similar to FIG. 1, partly in section, showing another adaptor suitable for use where the actuator button is removed from the aerosol valve stem.

The holder which is generally indicated by the numeral 8 has a vertical fluid passage 9 extending downwardly from a pressure fluid connection 10 by which the head 3,459,244 Patented Aug. 5, 1969 is attached to the supply unit. The body carries a suitable valve seat in the form of an O-ring 11 positioned in a recess 12 around the upper end of the flow passage 9. Another O-ring 13 may be used as a gasket to seal the connection 10. The flow passage 9 extends through the upper wall 14 of the holder and through a depending cyclindrical boss 15 having a flat annular end surface 16. The valve 17 itself is of the poppet type having a conical sealing surface 18 adapted to close against the O-ring seat 11 by gravity and fluid pressure in the connection 10, to close off the fluid passage 9. A cylindrical valve stem 19 extends through the flow passage 9 but is of substantially smaller diameter so as to allow free flow around the stem and into transverse passages 20 at the bottom of the stem 19.

The outer cylindrical wall 21 of the holder 8 extends beyond the flow passage 19 and boss 15 to provide a housing, open at its bottom end, for the adaptor unit 22. This unit has a vertically extending groove 23 in its outer surface to receive the end 24 of a screw 25 to provide fastening means which retains the adaptor while at the same time, allowing limited free sliding movement of the adaptor inside the housing wall 21. The adaptor 22 is generally in the shape of a hollow cylindrical block having a transverse wall 26 with an aperture 27. The recess 28 below this wall 26, together with the aperture 27, may be called a flow passage through the adaptor communicating with the flow passage 9 in the holder by way of the passages 20 at the bottom of the valve stem. The upper portion 29 of the cylindrical adaptor 22 has a sliding fit around the boss 15, and the bore 30 in this upper portion is somewhat larger in diameter than the recess 28 so as to accommodate an O-ring 31 between the wall 26 and the end surface 16 of the boss 15. The recess 28 shown in FIG. 1 is large enough to accommodate the actuator button 32 after it is fitted on the valve stem 33.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the adaptor unit 22 is provided with a seal ring 34 of rubber or the like which has a flat bottom surface 35 adapted to seal against the top surface 36 of a cap as commonly used on bottles. It will be understood that the valve structure is of a type which will move downwardly under pressure to allow flow either through the valve stem or around the sides of the valve. The seal ring 34 is held to the adaptor by any suitable means such as an inturned lip 37 engaging in a groove 38 of the ring.

FIG. 2 shows the idle position with no container against the seal ring. The valve 17 is held firmly against its seat 11 by fluid pressure in the connection 10 to close the flow passage through the filling head. When the seal ring 34 is pushed against the container cap, the adaptor 22 will slide upwardly in the housing wall 21 and first start to compress the O-ring 31 to elfect a seal between the holder and the adaptor. Continued movement will bring the transverse wall 26 against the poppet valve 17 to unseat it and allow flow through passage 9 and into the recess 28 where the buildup of pressure will open the aerosol valve and allow the container to be filled.

In FIG. 4, the construction is the same as in FIGS. 1 and 2, except that a seal ring 39 has a lip 40 adapted to extend down into a recess 41 While a shoulder 42 of the ring bears against the rolled rim 43 on the can to make a seal.

In FIG. 5, there is a recess 44 in the bottom of the adaptor unit 22 below the wall 26 which is much smaller than the recess 28 of FIG. 1. With this adaptor, the button is not in place during sealing so that wastage of material is reduced to a minimum by making the recess 44 only large enough to accommodate the valve stem 33.

As soon as the can is removed, gravity together with fluid pressure, will normally cause the adaptor unit 22 to drop down and allow the poppet valve 17 to close quickly and automatically. If desired, however, there may be added a spring, preferably of the Belleville type in the space between the upper end of the adaptor unit 22 and the wall 14 of the holder 8.

What I claim is:

1. A head for pressure filling aerosol containers comprising:

(a) a holder having a vertical flow passage, a fluid connection to the upper end of said flow passage and a housing extending below said flow passage and open at its bottom;

(b) means providing a valve seat at the upper end of said passage;

(c) a valve having a sealing surface normally resting on said seat to close said passage;

(d) an adaptor unit having a free sliding fit inside said housing and insertable into or removable from said housing through its open bottom end, a vertical flow passage through said adaptor which communicates with said holder flow passage, sealing means fixed to said adaptor around said adaptor flow passage at the lower end of said adaptor for sealing against a portion of an aerosol container, valve operating means on said adaptor which directly engages said valve upon upward movement of said adaptor relative to and within said housing to unseat said valve;

(e) means within said housing for effecting a seal between said holder and said adaptor around the entrance end of said flow passage upon upward movement of said adaptor relative to said holder prior to unseating of said valve; and

(f) releasable fastening means for retaining said adaptor while permitting limited sliding movement of said adaptor in said housing.

2. A head as defined in claim 1 wherein said holder is a one-piece member and wherein there is a central depending boss through which said flow passage extends.

3. A head as defined in claim 1 wherein said valve is of the poppet type having a stem extending through and beyond said holder flow passage and wherein aid adaptor has a transverse section adapted to engage said stem to unseat the valve upon upward movement of said adaptor.

4. A head as defined in claim 3 further characterized by a compressible sealing mean mounted between said transverse section of the adaptor and a portion of said holder, said seal being located with reference to said valve seat so that it will be initially compressed before unseating of the valve.

5. A head as defined in claim 1 wherein said fastening means comprises a vertically extending groove in the outer surface of said adaptor and a screw threaded in said holder and having an end portion adapted to extend into said groove to retain the adaptor in the holder while permitting limited sliding movement thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS HOUSTON S. BELL, JR., Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 141-387, 392 

